I'm Terrified of Bath Time

January 15, 2022
A bathtub has serious troubles. This delightful picture book turns the widespread phenomenon of toddler bathtime fears on its head. In Rich's ironic narrative, it is a white porcelain tub--not a child--who is most terrified of the hygienic ritual. The tub narrates the story, describing the horrors it is subjected to every time a White, female toddler is given a bath. First, its "eyeballs" (i.e., the faucet handles) get twisted and it gets "so freaked out" as water shoots out of its "nose" (the faucet spout). Then there is the agony of the toddler screaming in its "ear" (the hand sprayer), kicking its nose, and, yes, even pooping in the water. In reference to the scatological incident, the tub acknowledges, "that was a low point for both of us," a one-liner sure to make adults chuckle in solidarity. But Rich's real finesse comes in inviting readers to help the tub feel less afraid by making bathtime more relaxed and fun. The book's skillfully crafted storyline will appeal to children as well as adults working to avoid meltdowns when little ones have a wash. Toro's digitally composited hand-drawn and hand-painted illustrations--rendered in a limited palette and a cartoony style--are simple but inviting. The artwork effectively and endearingly anthropomorphizes the tub, sink, and toilet and clearly conveys the emotions of both the bathroom fixtures (who would have thought a tub's terror could be so palpable?) and the human characters. A refreshing, amusing approach to overcoming ablutophobia in small children. (Picture book. 3-5)

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April 18, 2022
The “I” of the title isn’t a kid in this bathroom drama—it’s an anthropomorphized bathtub with faucet-handle eyes, and it has to deal with a small reluctant bather, a child with tan skin. “Listen. I know you’ve got your own issues with bath time,” says the tub, trying to be conciliatory. “But compared to me, you’ve got it easy.” Toro’s digitally enhanced watercolor cartoons, rendered in a limited palette, show the poor tub putting up with the child’s unhappy flailing, splashing, kicking, and screaming, not to mention a pooping incident (“That was a low point for us both”). Acknowledging, perhaps uncomfortably, that the child has “all the power in this relationship,” the tub offers several smart suggestions for kinder, gentler bath-time activities (like giving it a “makeover” by festooning the faucets with toys) that adult bath supervisors will want to crib for their own use. Ages 4–8.

June 1, 2022

PreS-Gr 1-Be a hero to households where bath time is a terror and keep this book on the shelves. This cute and imaginative story personifies the bathtub by making eyes of the hot and cold handles, nose of the faucet, and ears of the shower head. The bathtub speaks to the painful life it experiences each night it hears those famous words, "It's time for your bath." The author does a masterful job giving this object a voice. The illustrations bring the tub and its friends to life, showering readers with colorful images of bath times gone wrong and playful moments of a young child learning to relax and enjoy the water. The juxtaposition of black-and-white pages of the horrors of bath time with colorful pages will make an even greater splash with readers. VERDICT A supplementary purchase. By the end of the story, a joyful child and fearless tub have given readers a refreshing tale with that flows effortlessly into a new era of pure friendship.-Tanya Haynes

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Starred review from March 15, 2022
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* For any child reluctant to get into the tub, here's a unique chance to experience the trauma from the opposite point of view--that is, through the bathtub's eyes. First, moans the porcelain protester, a "scary giant" comes into the room and "twists my eyeballs." This makes water shoot out of the tub's nose ("You would not believe how weird it feels"). But that's only the prelude to the indignities suffered once a loud, kicking little bather is stripped of clothes and diaper and plunked in. It's splashy mayhem! "One time you pooped. That was a low point for us both." In the cartoon illustrations (particularly for that scene), the anthropomorphic features Toro gives claw-footed Tub (and its friends Sink and Toilet) are hilariously expressive. Better yet (from parental perspectives, anyway), if the small, brown-skinned child that Tub is addressing here is willing to sing instead of scream, use suds and bath toys in playful ways, and stop kicking the fixtures, then bath time might even become "sort of fun." Along with offering a bit of bathroom behavior modification, this is, undeniably, storytime gold for young audiences large or small.

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